Hollister district: LCAP process moving forward with community meetings

The Hollister School District recently held another Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) community engagement meeting on January 22, 2020. The LCAP process, underway since December 2019, continues to move forward. The school district will hold two more community meetings at the Hollister School District Office on February 12, 2020 and February 26, 2020.

Superintendent Diego Ochoa has led the first three meetings with parents and community members. The meetings have focused on the LCAP process, a review of district performance results, and a focus on areas for improvement. 

At the January 8, 2020 meeting, parents were provided with academic data focusing on each school. Parents then discussed how the district’s current LCAP supports or does not support student success. The process culminated with members in attendance identifying Areas of Focus, including: Academic growth over time, Improvement to school climate, English Language Development for all children, middle school test score stagnation, parent education, pupil attendance, and excessive pupil suspensions.

At the January 22, 2020 LCAP Meeting, Superintendent Ochoa led the group in making recommendations about how to address Areas of Focus. “Our district will gather the very best ideas from parents, staff, teachers and administrators to begin drafting the new LCAP for 2020-2023,” said Ochoa. 

Those in attendance recommended that the district prioritize the following:

1. Retain highly qualified staff.
2. Hold parent/teacher conferences early in the school year to address concerns.
3. Reduce the focus on technology or chromebook use.
4. Fund school counseling and mental health positions.
5. Appropriately fund school libraries.
6. Continue to focus on improving classroom instruction.
7. Expand the district’s bilingual program.
8. Provide increased funding to have employees posted in school parking lots.

The school district will hold two more community meetings at the Hollister School District Office on February 12, 2020 and February 26, 2020. These meetings will focus on gathering ideas from members present regarding recommended new goals, recommended new actions, and recommended new services for the 2020-2023 LCAP.

For more information, please contact Superintendent Diego Ochoa at [email protected].